New Dawn

The Voice surrounded her and softly, but firmly said, “Come my child, there is much to be done.” With that simple statement time resumed with the fury of a tornado and without even having time to blink, Illinois was gone, and before her was a world she could have scarcely imagined in her wildest dreams.
Mira found herself in a Glen that was more beautiful than words could describe, there were flowers and trees everywhere, she saw so many plants that she had never seen before and the trees were much taller than she had ever seen or even heard about, the trees here dwarfed the sequoias in California. The grass was a darker shade of green than she had ever seen grass before and it was so soft and inviting looking. She took in the new scents almost greedily. The sky wasn’t the blue that she was used to seeing, instead it was a light purple, it reminded Mira of the colors that she would sometimes see when the sun set. It was mostly quiet except for a few bird calls, or what she assumed were bird calls because they were such beautiful songs. She was so caught up in the beauty that she couldn’t really process the fear that was building within her. It was only after she noticed all of the details of nature that she took note of the people standing just at the edge of the glade, watching her explore and revel in this new world.
Mira was slightly alarmed when she noticed the three people standing about fifty feet away from her, but then it hit her; she was dead. That was the only way that this made sense, she must have died and now she was in heaven. She started striding towards the watchers, hesitantly at first, but gaining confidence with every step. As she approached she guessed that two were male and one was female. The female reminded her more of a tree than anything else. Her skin was smooth but her features were somewhat hard and uneven, she had long platinum blonde hair that she had pulled into a bun. She was very tall and everything about her was thin and graceful; although, Mira got the sense that if they got into a fight right then and there, she would not come out the victor. The tree woman was dressed in khaki colored pants, but they were not a material that Mira was familiar with, and she didn’t wear shoes. She also had on a fitted plain t-shirt that would allow her to move easily. The males were completely different, one seemed to be older, yet he did not seem like he would have the voice that spoke to me and transported me here. He was much shorter than the woman and he had four legs but he walked upright with two arms with his torso balanced between his two sets of legs, which were always bent, kind of like a spiders. He was much rounder than the woman as well, overall he kind of reminded Mira of the librarian she had had in Middle School. The third man looked completely human, and about the same age as Mira, 20. Mira thought that some women would consider him attractive, and he was. He had short hair, only about an inch or two long, but it fit his face perfectly. He was around six feet tall and very well built, he looked a lot like the star football players at her high school. As she got closer Mira also noticed a few small scars on his face and arms that clearly marked him as someone who was frequently in fights, she knew the look.
When Mira was about ten feet away she stopped, unsure of what to do anymore, even if she was dead this was a very strange welcome party. Mira had never really been religious, her father never took her to church after her mom died when she was six. The fear was finally starting to register with her, and she felt as it slowly morphed into panic. There was so much that she had wanted to do with her life, and just as she was getting the chance to leave, and go start a new life, the one that she wanted to live for her mother, and she dies. This couldn’t be worse timing. Mira couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“You have got to be kidding me right? I was just about to start living my freaking life, away from my dad and I had to go and die?! Of course! It’s just my freaking luck! I don’t even know what happened! I was just sitting in the park and ‘Woosh’ I’m here.” Mira raved, waving her arms around like a lunatic.
“Child… Girl!” the tree-woman yelled, “what is your name child?” the tree lady’s voice was like wind washing over Mira, it was the most soothing voice, besides The Voice, that she had heard, and she could feel the panic recede a bit. Mira could just picture the woman being a tree.
“My names Mira…” and after a few seconds, “am I really dead?”
“No Mira, you are not dead, you are in the Guardian Sanctuary, the place where every single guardian before you has trained and prepared for their roles; this is now your place, Mira.”